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Topic: Adding a honey super? (Read 5185 times)

My bees have just got 7 of 10 frames drawn out in the second brood chamber. So Iâ€™m wondering if I should put on a honey super for more room? I just started with package bees this year and was not planning on getting any honey this year. I donâ€™t have an extractor and do not want to buy one till next year. If I do put one on can I just leave it on through the winter for the bees extra food? Then I will have drawn foundation for next year? Also, they are still taking syrup, since I will not be selling any honey should I keep feeding them with the honey super on to help them draw the foundation?

hi why not harvest some honey or comb as it sounds like your going to have plenty for winter? addind honey super sounds like a good idea ...id put it b/n two large deeps for a week, then put it on top . get some honey dude...its mid summer,,, should be able to stop feeding them...any honey after that will be real. sounds like yo bees is doing good! brookie

wannabee

Hi guys! I was told by an "old timer" that even though you aren't going to extract honey this year still add on a honey super as it will encourage them to remain in "high gear". Also, be sure to put on a queen extractor so they don't "set up house" in the upper frame and populate it with brood. Besides, when you medicate your bees in August you won't want the medication on your honey supers.

addind honey super sounds like a good idea ...id put it b/n two large deeps for a week, then put it on top

I have read several post talking about placing honey super between brood chambers or to leave off queen extruder for several days to help to get the bees to start drawing comb. Wouldnâ€™t these cause problems with the queen possibly laying eggs in honey super?

Give them a 1/2 deep super to start with. No queen excluder. If she wants to lay in the 1/2 deep so be it! You want to build up that hive for the winter. The more honey the better!

I just added a 2nd deep to my 2 hives last weekend. I think I waited too long to add the deeps cause one of the hives threw off a swarm!

Too late in the season to start another colony!

When they start working on the last frames add that extra space!

RM

Quote from: tejas

My bees have just got 7 of 10 frames drawn out in the second brood chamber. So Iâ€™m wondering if I should put on a honey super for more room? I just started with package bees this year and was not planning on getting any honey this year. I donâ€™t have an extractor and do not want to buy one till next year. If I do put one on can I just leave it on through the winter for the bees extra food? Then I will have drawn foundation for next year? Also, they are still taking syrup, since I will not be selling any honey should I keep feeding them with the honey super on to help them draw the foundation?

Anonymous

My experience has been that even if a queen does lay brood in a super, the workers will only allow her to lay eggs in there until later in the summer. They will start putting nectar in the vacated cells well before winter and will in effect force the queen to lay eggs further down in the hive before it's time to take the supers off for winter.

As a matter of fact I have two hives right now that have brood in the bottom two supers. As the fell nectar starts to come in the workers will quickly fill these cells before the queen has a chance to lay more eggs in them.